Feb. 6: Western 84 Guelph 80
LONDON, Ont. – The Western Mustangs men`s basketball team used a strong second half to beat the Guelph Gryphons 84-80 Feb. 6 at Jam the Gym in front of 900 fans at Alumni Hall. The large, boisterous crowd on hand for the Jam the Gym promotion left happy and entertained as Western came from 16 points down in the second half to win.
Leading the Mustangs charge was Andrew Wedemire (Sarnia, Ont.) with 19 points and 13 rebounds, getting 10 of those rebounds in the second half. Ryan Barbeau (Belleville, Ont.) was the playmaker as he used a great second half to finish with 17 points and 13 assists. All five of Western’s starters finished with double figures in points, with Jason Milliquet (Sarnia, Ont.) netting 13 points, Garrett Olexiuk (Burlington, Ont.) getting 12 and Brett Lawrence (Welland, Ont.) finishing with 11.
The Mustangs are now 10-8 on the year and are in fourth place in the OUA West standings. With the loss the Guelph Gryphons fall to 5-13.
Western men's basketball head coach Brad Campbell said he was pleased with the defensive effort and their overall play in the second half.
“We had a lack of focus defensively in the first half and in the second half we showed what we are capable of,” Campbell said. “Wedemire and Barbeau really stepped up in the fourth quarter when we needed them to.”
Campbell also added that the focus this week in practice would be to “get better defensively so that we can take away what the other team is trying to do on offence.”
Each team came out of the gates slowly as the larger than usual crowd accompanied with noisemakers, created a great atmosphere for basketball.
The Gryphons were playing tight on defence and forcing Western into taking tough shots. Guelph held a slim three point advantage at the end of the frame 14-11.
The Guelph lead was extended in the second quarter behind the incredibly hot shooting hand of Jay Mott. During a stretch in the second quarter he had 14 points in a row, including four triples. He finished with 33 points on the day and shot 7 of 10 from three point range.
The Mustangs stayed within reach though with Milliquet answering back with two threes of his own. Poor shooting at the foul line from the Mustangs hurt their offensive game and at half time the Gryphons were up 43-31.
Western tightened up its play in the third quarter and began their comeback from a deficit as large as 16 points at one time. They were getting to the foul line and were playing very well defensive. By the end of the quarter the Gryphons lead had been cut down to 63-56.
The fourth quarter started out with a 7-0 run by the Mustangs to tie the game at 63 apiece with the Gryphons big-men getting into foul trouble. The crowd rallied behind their team and, with Wedemire dominating the defensive boards, Western pushed the lead to 11 with 1:41 remaining. Guelph refused to rollover though and battled back, fouling to send Western to the foul line and then cutting into the lead on their offensive end. The Mustangs proved to be gelling at the right time however, and held on to win 84-80.
Next up for the Mustangs are the McMaster Marauders on Wed. Feb. 10 at 8 p.m. This will the final home game of the regular season for Western so come out and support them on the road to the playoffs. Students receive free admission with their Student ID cards.